OMAHA- Ceremonial shovels broke ground this week for the $95 million Rural Health Education Building in Kearney, where a three-story, 110,000-square-foot medical school is soon to rise and then open in early 2026. Leaders of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center led the event signaling the construction start of the facility aimed at growing the state’s rural healthcare workforce.

“Our goal is to harness UNMC’s world-class skills to transform rural Nebraska through a unique endeavor not seen elsewhere in the United States: educating health care workers and professionals in rural areas,” said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen. He called the project a “game-changer” in helping to fill shortages in all medical professions across the state.

The center will launch new programs to train physicians, pharmacists and public health professionals in Kearney, while also expanding the presence of other existing health and nursing programs. It will also contain state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories for pre-clinical education and complex clinical scenarios and primary care practice spaces.

For the full article click HERE